Eagles hand punting gig to Donnie Jones

PHILADELPHIA -- The Eagles handed a one-year contract Monday to punter Donnie Jones, who crafted the All-Pro portion of his resume a few years ago working largely in domes.

Jones, who turns 33 this summer, grew weary of waiting around on the Houston Texans, who gave him the impression he would be retained after a solid season but wound up adding 36-year-old accomplished veteran Shane Lechler, who resides near Reliant Stadium. Houston, we have a problem.

"It was disappointing because you go in somewhere, you do everything that was asked of you and you play really well and ultimately they move in a different direction," Jones said on a conference call.

"They had told us really numerous times throughout the offseason that they wanted to re-sign me. I know I was being told that in the exit meeting when I met with the GM. They were real happy with the year I had and definitely wanted to bring me back. They met with my agent several times throughout the course of the offseason and told him the same. In the end it didn't work out."

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Jones agreed to work for the Eagles last week, his agent and Birds general manager Howie Roseman engaging during the owners' meetings in Phoenix. Though the deal is for one year, Jones, who has played for dome teams in all but two of his nine NFL seasons, could change some minds if he proves that punting in the great outdoors is overrated.

Jones' coldest outdoor game last season was at Chicago. His average gross was 44.6 yards, his net 38.3 yards. The temperature was in the low-50s.

In an early December game at New England, Jones grossed 49.3 yards and netted 42.1 yards. The temperature was a balmy 59.

"My thought is that Philadelphia really wanted me here," Jones, a product of LSU said. "You always want to go somewhere where you're wanted. After meeting with the special teams coach here, Dave Fipp, and coach Chip Kelly, I'm really thankful to be here and have the opportunity to work with these guys. And I think we'll have a great year.

"My goal or plan is to come here and play really well with this team and my hope is that I can stick around here for a while. I'd definitely like something like what I have in St. Louis. Being around here the next four or five years would be awesome."

The Eagles cut punter Mat McBriar, who averaged 46.5 yards on 55 punts but netted just 36.5 yards in some of the worst possible conditions. The Eagles quit on both their special teams and head coaches last season necessitating wholesale changes, including Kelly for Andy Reid.

"Last year I thought I had a really good year," Jones said. "We had a 40-yard net. At one point, I remember nobody had achieved that and just recently more and more guys have netted 40.

"That's kind of a goal or standard. Any time you can net 40 yards on a play it's huge for field position. I thought really in the last six years I only had one off year. Other than I thought I played pretty well."